eWillow.com's Paper Clips - Recycled/Repurposed Ideas

Chalkboard Re-Do

nospam@example.com (Charlene ) — Fri, 03 May 2013 19:35:00 -0400

It's been awhile since I posted a DIY tutorial. I have been so swamped with making cards that I had to force myself to stop for a sort time and tend to some important household duties. My daughter recently redecorated her bedroom. She went from Lily Pulitzer hot pink and lime green to a more mature color scheme of gray and dark purple. The transformation was amazing! The best and most fun part for her was taking all of the loose change that she found while she was cleaning her room and exchanging it for cold, hard cash. She was amazed when two coffee mugs full of coins garnished her nearly $60.00. She used the money to buy new decor for her room. (More on that later.)

I was excited to get my hands on the hot-pink chalkboard that she had hanging on her wall. It was just begging for some TLC. It somehow gained some gross (hard-to-cover) ink stains over the years, but they didn't stop me.

I had been wanting to use some chalkboard paint for awhile. I just so happened to have gray chalkboard paint on hand from another project that I never got around to making. It was so EASY to use the paint and so fun to up-cycle this nasty-looking pink board. Here are before and after pics:

I used Mod Podge and decorative paper to cover up the ink stains that weren't hidden by the chalkboard paint. The decorative paper also gives the chalkboard a more mature look. The photos below show how easy this project was to create.

1) Start off with the nasty-looking board. It didn't require any prep other than dusting.

2) Use chalkboard paint and a brush large enough to make wide strokes. Make sure the brush doesn't leave behind any bristles.

3) Apply a few coats of paint, waiting about an hour between coats.

4) Allow all of the coats to completely dry.

5) Cut and glue strips of decorative paper using Mod Podge.

Yes, it really was THAT easy.

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More room projects coming up next week, including up-cycling a bulletin board and making a hanging decoration for the ceiling fan chain. Stay tuned.

Anything Your Heart Desires

nospam@example.com (Charlene ) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 11:56:46 -0500

Do you live in or around Durham, NC? If so, have you heard of The Scrap Exchange? I visited it for the first time on Black Friday, and it immediately became one of my most favorite places on the planet. You can buy anything and everything that you need to create anything and everything. Here is some more info, directly from their website:

The Scrap Exchange is a nonprofit creative reuse center in Durham, North Carolina whose mission is to promote creativity, environmental awareness, and community through reuse. Since 1991, we have been collecting materials from local businesses and residents and distributing these reclaimed materials through our retail store, community events, parties and workshops.

When we visited, they were having a fundraising event called "Smash-Fest." They were selling broken pieces of ceramic stuff for $1 a piece. After we made our purchases, we proceeded outside to the lovely bonfires and live music. They had a huge wall set up where they showed a movie while people smashed their ceramic pieces against the wall. (It was a very therapeutic way to rid ourselves of the frustrations of Black Friday shopping madness.)

After the event was over, their plan was to gather all of the broken pieces and create a mosaic, which they would then sell. Such a great idea for a fundraiser, right?

I was happy to have scored exactly what I went there to find. I have a client who prefers that I make large-sized cards for him every year for Christmas. It is always difficult to find the right size envelopes that will fit the card and at the same time look nice. Thanks to The Scrap Exchange, I was able to find a ton (well actually three pounds) of envelopes! Best part? The envelopes were only $1 per pound. Woo hoo!!! I also scored sticky-back Velcro and some cute metal embellishments that I'm sure I will find a use for.

It is a great place for college students (it is located near Duke University) because they have vintage posters and other funky stuff at rock-bottom prices. A student can do some fabulous dorm-room decorating with the stuff they sell. From fabrics, to fasteners, to test tubes, to vintage spindles, to old National Geographic magazines, to boxes, to ... whatever your heart desires. Call it a Goodwill store for the crafty person, at prices that are so low they almost give away the stuff.

More on what I put inside the envelopes coming tomorrow.

Check out The Scrap Exchange's website HERE. They have an events calendar and other cool info.

(This is my personal review of The Scrap Exchange. The thoughts are my own, and I was not paid in any way to write this review.)

Continue reading "Anything Your Heart Desires"

Make a Spooky Terrarium Vignette

nospam@example.com (Charlene ) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 00:01:00 -0400

Even though my day-to-day creative endeavors revolve around making greeting cards, I love to digress every now and then and create something altogether different. When the opportunity came my way to participate in a campaign during this Halloween season for Martha Stewart Crafts, I jumped at the chance!

Lately, I have been infatuated with terrariums. I was over the spooky, full, Halloween moon when I found a terrarium on clearance at Home Goods that looked like a spooky graveyard. Combine a spooky-looking terrarium with Martha Stewart Crafts decorative arts paints and supplies from Plaid, and here is what you get: a spooky graveyard Halloween vignette!

Continue reading "Make a Spooky Terrarium Vignette"